Wildlife Photography - Wildlife Photo Tour in South Africa, Day 9

Day 9 of my Photo Tour in South Africa. Wildlife sightings are quiet good. Came across 4 big male lions and their giraffe kill, a male leopard and its warthog kill, numerous Elephant, Rhinos, Cape Buffaloes and their calves plus an assortment of other animals and birds.  

No time to keep up with what's happening with the myriad of photography news but want to pass on the 'news' the long awaited Canon EOS-5D Mk IV may be announced just before the big WPPI Show in March of 2016. This show is geared towards wedding photographers, who are a big constituent of the current EOS-5D Mk III. However, I expect Canon to announce the EOS-1D X Mk II before the EOS-5D Mk IV but after Nikon announces their top-of-the-line D5 camera.

My Canon equipment is working reasonably well. There was a last minute substitute for me and I brought the EOS-1D Mk IV instead of the EOS-1D X and the EF 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6L IS instead of the EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II lens. It was a good move since most wildlife encounters are fairly close and with the Mk IV plus the 28-300mm, I am getting the rough equivalent of a 40 to 400mm focal length camera/lens combo, all in one package.

Call of the Wild - Male Leopard in Sabi Sand

2 month old White Rhino calf

The 3 Amigos - 3 of 4 male lions in a coalition pride 

 

The most endangered large carnivore in Africa - Wild Dog

Male Bull African Elephant traversing a water hole

Canon Develops 250MP APS-H CMOS Sensor

TOKYO, September 7, 2015 - Canon Inc. announced today that it has developed an APS-H-size (approx. 29.2 x 20.2 mm) CMOS sensor incorporating approximately 250 million pixels (19,580 x 12,600 pixels), the world’s highest number of pixels (1) for a CMOS sensor smaller than the size of a 35 mm full-frame sensor. The last production camera that used a APS-H sensor was the EOS-1D Mk IV.

When installed in a camera, the newly developed sensor was able to capture images enabling the distinguishing of lettering on the side of an airplane flying at a distance of approximately 18 km from the shooting location.(2)

With CMOS sensors, increases in pixel counts result in increased signal volume, which can cause such problems as signal delays and slight discrepancies in timing. The new Canon-developed CMOS sensor, however, despite its exceptionally high pixel count, achieves an ultra-high signal readout speed of 1.25 billion pixels per second, made possible through such advancements as circuit miniaturization and enhanced signal-processing technology. Accordingly, the sensor enables the capture of ultra-high-pixel-count video at a speed of five frames per second. Additionally, despite the exceptionally high pixel count, Canon applied its sensor technologies cultivated over many years to realize an architecture adapted for miniaturized pixels that delivers high-sensitivity, low-noise imaging performance.

Video footage captured by the camera outfitted with the approximately 250-megapixel CMOS sensor achieved a level of resolution that was approximately 125 times that of Full HD (1,920 x 1,080 pixels) video and approximately 30 times that of 4K (3,840 x 2,160 pixels) video. The exceptionally high definition made possible by the sensor lets users crop and magnify video images without sacrificing image resolution and clarity.

Canon is considering the application of this technology in specialized surveillance and crime prevention tools, ultra-high-resolution measuring instruments and other industrial equipment, and the field of visual expression.

• As of September 7, 2015, based on a Canon survey.
• Image capture employed a combination of optical and digital zooming while distinguishing of image content was realized through the magnification of an approximately 1/40,000th-sized area of the captured image.